ExpectedOutcome:
The successful proposal will support the delivery of solutions to implement the European Green Deal, the circular economy action plan and the bioeconomy strategy. The topic will support the transition towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy across regions of Europe at local and regional scale.
The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s Project Development Assistance (CCRI-PDA) will be included in the instruments implementing the European Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI).[1] It will be carried out in close coordination and cooperation with the CCRI.
Investors and lenders need to gain more confidence in investment projects in the field of circular economy which are still seen as risky. European added value can be achieved, for example, where projects introduce innovation to the market regarding financing solutions minimising transaction costs and engaging the private finance community. European added value could also be achieved where projects demonstrably address legal, administrative and other market opportunities and challenges for innovative and sustainable circular economy investment schemes.
CCRI-PDA projects’ results are expected to contribute to the delivery of a series of sustainable circular economy projects and innovative financing solutions/schemes at local and regional scale across Europe.
Scope:
The CCRI-PDA beneficiaries include public and private project promoters such as local and regional authorities or their groupings, public/private infrastructure operators and bodies, utilities and services, industry (including SMEs).
The purpose of the CCRI-PDA is to help project promoters develop their circular economy projects and to bring together the technical, economic and legal expertise needed for developing circular economy investment projects at local and regional scale resulting in the actual launch of investments during the action. Ultimately, CCRI-PDA projects should demonstrate the financial viability and sustainability of circular economy investment projects at local and regional scale and provide tangible showcases that should trigger further market replication.
The CCRI-PDA should provide support for those activities necessary to prepare and mobilise finance for investment projects, such as feasibility studies, stakeholder and community mobilisation, business plans and preparation for tendering procedures or setting up a specific financing scheme/financial engineering.
Proposals could address the development or replication and implementation of innovative financing schemes for circular economy investments at local and regional scale.
The CCRI-PDA should support public and private project promoters to launch investments for activities aimed at increasing circularity in economic sectors that are relevant for the transition towards a sustainable circular economy at local and/or regional scale. The economic sectors involved in each CCRI-PDA service should be selected according to local and/or regional circular economy needs, resources and potential. This selection must be clearly justified and explained.
Proposals should clearly focus their activities on the launch of significant circular economy investments at local and regional scale. The investments should be launched before the end of the action, which means that projects should result in signed contracts with investors for circular economy investments at local and regional scale to that effect.
In addition, proposals should include all following features:
- Clearly focus their activities on the launch of significant circular economy investment programmes at local and regional scale;
- An exemplary/showcase dimension in their ambition to increase circularity in specific sector(s) at local and regional scale and/or in the size of the expected investments and leverage factors[2];
- Delivery of organisational innovation in the mobilisation of the investment programme (e.g. bundling, pooling or stakeholder engagement);
In addition, all proposals should demonstrate a high degree of replicability and include a clear action plan to communicate experiences and results to potential replicators across EU Member States and Associated Countries.
Indicatively, the CCRI-PDA focuses on small and medium-sized circular economy investments of up to EUR 20 million.[3]
The EU contribution per proposal should not exceed 10% of the related investment.
Proposals should justify the budget for the project development assistance needed based on the expected investment portfolio to be set up. This includes the amount of investments that is expected to be triggered and the respective leverage factors to be achieved.
Proposals are expected to ensure synergies and complementarities with other EU financial schemes for circular economy projects. Examples and background information on already existing PDA facilities are available at: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/project-development-assistance-pda
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
[1]The CCRI is part of the European circular economy action plan (CEAP) and aims to support circular solutions for the transitions towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy at local and regional scale https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
[2] i.e. amount of investments in the circular economy triggered per each EUR of Horizon Europe support.
[3]The Circular Economy Technical Assistance Facility (CETAF) will focus on projects and programmes with a minimum total investment volume of EUR 20 million.
